You are here

About the performer

Gautier Capuçon

Gautier Capuçon is widely recognised as one of the foremost cellists of his generation and has received consistently high critical praise for his recordings and performances. Born in Chambéry in 1981, Capuçon began playing the cello at the age of five. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris with Philippe Muller and Annie Cochet-Zakine, and later with Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. The winner of various first prizes in many leading international competitions, including the International André Navarra Prize, Capuçon was named ‘New Talent of the Year’ by Victoires de la Musique (the French equivalent of a Grammy) in 2001; in 2004 he received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award since which time he has received several Echo Klassik awards, most recently for his recording of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev with Gergiev and for his recording of Fauré’s complete chamber music.

Capuçon performs regularly as a soloist with the major orchestras worldwide, and is a favourite of conductors at the highest level including Gergiev, Dudamel, Bychkov, Haitink, Chung, Dutoit, Eschenbach, Nelsons and Nézet-Séguin. In recent seasons, concerto highlights have included orchestras such as LA Philharmonic, Seattle, Boston, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Vienna Symphony and the Deutsche Symphony Orchestra with whom he toured Europe. A regular recital and chamber musician, Capuçon appears in the major halls and festivals across Europe, and every year at the Verbier Festival and at Project Martha Argerich, Lugano, performing with many of the world’s leading artists such as Barenboim, Bashmet, Caussé, Kavakos, Kirchschlager, Pletnev, Pressler, Thibaudet, Znaider, his brother Renaud and many others including those with whom he has recorded (see below).

In the 13/14 season, debuts include the Concertgebouw Orchestra/Bychkov, New York Philharmonic/ Boreyko and the Staatskapelle Dresden/Eschenbach in Dresden and the Salzburg Easter Festival. Other highlights include the Munich Philharmonic/Bychkov – both in Munich and at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest – with Sydney Symphony/Bringuier, Boston Symphony/Dutoit, Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Haitink in Amsterdam, Paris and the Lucerne Festival, with Mariinsky Orchestra/Gergiev at Salle Pleyel (Paris), NHK Symphony Orchestra/Dutoit, and in China with China Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphony. In recital, Capuçon will perform with Frank Braley in the major venues in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna and Seoul, and with Yuja Wang in a recital tour of Japan.

Capuçon records exclusively for Virgin Classics. His recordings include the Dvořák Concerto with Frankfurt Radio Symphony/Paavo Järvi, Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations and Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante with Mariinsky Theatre/Gergiev, the Brahms Double Concerto with his brother Renaud and Mahler Youth Orchestra/Chung, and the Haydn Cello Concertos with Mahler Chamber Orchestra/Harding. He has recorded several discs of chamber music with Martha Argerich, Frank Braley, Nicholas Angelich, Renaud and others, and the Rachmaninov and Prokofiev Cello Sonatas with Gabriela Montero. His next releases include a recital disc of music by Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Britten and Carter with Frank Braley, and Saint-Saëns First Cello Concerto and Muse et le poète with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Bringuier, and earlier this year Deutsche Gramophone released a DVD featuring Capuçon as soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic/Dudamel in a live performance of Haydn’s first Cello Concerto.

As a partner of Gautier Capuçon, Colas co-produced, along with Virgin Classics, his latest recording with Gergiev and participated in the purchase of a Dominique Peccatte Bow. Since 2007 Gautier Capuçon has been an Ambassador for Zegna & Music project which was founded in 1997 as a philanthropic activity to promote music and its values.